Nintendo Pushes for Splatoon eSports with Latest Splatoon 2 Feature

For those of who are stoked about picking up a Nintendo Switch next month, odds are Splatoon 2 has caught your interest as well, as it’s expected to be one of the Switch’s most highly anticipated launches this Summer.

It’s no surprise that Nintendo has been beating around the eSports/Competitive Gaming bush lately, especially with the company bring back the Nintendo World Championships back in 2014. Yes I know, that was a few years ago, and it may not mean much at this point; but remember the Splatoon 2 tournament showcase which the company revealed in their Nintendo Switch reveal trailer that released this past October? Well, if that did not give you the hint that the company may be interested in investing in eSports a little bit, then I don’t know what will. Perhaps this?

The official Nintendo of America Twitter account recently tweeted a feature reveal, surrounding Splatoon 2. The company confirmed that with the Nintendo Switch and Splatoon 2, a LAN feature will allow users to create local Private Battle tournaments, without the need of an internet connection. We learned awhile back that Splatoon 2 would feature up to 8 player battles via local multiplayer, and now with a tournament feature in the works we can almost rest assured that Nintendo plans to support the competitive Splatoon 2 scene, at least to some degree.

Previously, we’ve reported that Splatoon 2 will allow up to eight Nintendo Switch systems to connect via local wireless to play Private Battles. In addition to this, a new feature called LAN Play will enable players to connect eight docked systems using a wired LAN setup. This feature allows players to create local Private Battle tournaments without the need for an Internet connection.

If you’re willing to put in the work to set up LAN Play, you can also use the Private Battle Spectator View feature by hooking up two additional Nintendo Switch systems. Local wireless play is perfect for your regular gaming get-togethers, but LAN Play is where it’s at when you want to organize a serious tournament event with your fellow players.

It’s pretty much a no-brainier at this point that Nintendo will at the very least be providing Splatoon 2 users with the full capability to create their own Splatoon 2 tournaments, providing them with all the essentials, right out of the box. This is quite exciting as a huge Nintendo fan, as it isn’t everyday that you see Nintendo providing the necessary tools within their title, that cater to the more competitive crowd. I am quite excited to see what the future of competitive Splatoon 2 holds, and where Nintendo will try and take things, post-launch.